I've been a member here for a while, ever since we first started discussing getting a dog. We've been talking about it for quite a while now and have been making sure that it's something we can afford as well as researching breeds that would be suitable for us.

We've now checked with our landlords and have agreed to pay a deposit to allow us to have a dog (we will also get it in writing as well that we are allowed a dog). We live in a cottage with a small (shared) garden which is situated on the Mount Stuart estate on the Isle of Bute. While the garden is small, we (and our dog) have free roam of the 350 acre estate, we are also within driving and walking distance of about four or five beaches.

My husband has mostly had experiences of larger dogs (Old English Mastiff and Newfoundland) while my own have been with a cross-breed (mostly spaniel with a couple of something elses in there too) and a collie (who was a failed sheepdog). We've decided that due to the size of our house, we'd be better off going for a medium-sized dog and have kind of fallen in love with the idea of having a spaniel (in part due to my own experiences with our Lady but also because there are several on the island already).

Neither of us are very keen on small dogs and would rather not go for a small dog. We've also told the landlords that we would not go for a dog like a staffy.

We have considered rescues, but living on an island does make it rather difficult and expensive to get off to visit them; we have rehomed privately before and would be happy to do this again. Depending on location, we would be happy to travel to meet a dog (especially if there are good rail links to get there).

I do shiftwork during the day, but my husband will be around during that time and so it may spend some time at my in-laws' house (with my husband) where they have a very large garden (and a beach right outside their house). They occasionally watch the dogs of friends and a friend of mine has also recently (privately) rehomed a dog and we're planning walks together already (with a trip to the beach every Friday ).

We don't really have an ideal dog in mind. My husband has fallen in love with the idea of a spaniel so I think a spaniel or spaniel-cross would be top of our list, along with anything with a bit of lab or collie in it. It would need to get on with other dogs as there are a lot of dogs where we live. We will be happy to take care of spaying/neutering if need be, we have a very good local vet who we have known for many years. We aren't too concerned about age either, as much as we love the idea of a cute and cuddly puppy we realise that this would involve a lot of work and if there is a young to five-year-old dog needing a home this would be more practical (especially if it is already house-broken).

We'd be happy to send email updates and photos to let previous owners know how the dog is getting on as well.

I realise I've written a bit of an essay here, but I'm just trying to think of all the things that people might want to know about us. We don't have internet access at home, so if I don't respond immediately, please don't think I'm not interested. I'm online every Sunday and if you PM me I'll be happy to let you have my number to chat if that's more convenient.